Parking
Signed Lake Mistletoe carpark off Te Anau Milford Highway (SH94), near the Fiordland National Park Lodge complex at Te Anau Downs.
Overview
About Lake Mistletoe Track
Why go
- Easy forest-and-lake loop with a birdwatching payoff
- A useful short stop on the Milford Road
Heads up
- Brief highway section is exposed to fast traffic
- Mud and sandflies can be part of the experience
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Fiordland map
Full mapElevation205–222 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Fiordland Tour Guide
Your drive to Lake Mistletoe Track, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Fiordland National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Fiordland audio tourRecorded for this area
Kākāpō and the Island Arks of FiordlandListen
“Fiordland is the heartland of the kākāpō, New Zealand's famous flightless parrot, even though you won't see one here.”
Plays on the road 3.1 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Fiordland Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Henry Creek Lakeside Campsite
- Papango on the Lakeshore: New Zealand Scaup
- What Are Those Boxes? Fiordland’s Predator Traps
- A Lake With Fiords: Te Anau's Three Arms
- 126 audio storiesacross Fiordland’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Kea, Fiordland Penguin, Blue Duck, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 68 trails, 124 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Lake Mistletoe Track
A calm stop on the Milford RoadLake Mistletoe is an easy, 1.1-mile (1.
Lake Mistletoe is an easy, 1.1-mile (1.8-km) loop with a small lake, lowland beech forest, and a quiet birdwatching payoff. I'd keep it in the day if you want a gentle leg-stretcher between Te Anau and Milford Sound. The official walk takes about 45 minutes return, including the short roadside section that closes the loop.
Follow the full loopStart at the signed carpark, then follow the formed track through forest and wetlands to the…
Start at the signed carpark, then follow the formed track through forest and wetlands to the lake viewpoint. The mapped route includes the short out-and-back viewpoint spur before continuing to the Milford Road. To finish the loop, walk back along a brief section of busy SH94. The terrain is mostly easy and gently undulating, though roots, mud, and wet boardwalk can slow you down.
Look for the lake and the birdsLake Mistletoe is a small kettle lake, and the track gives you glimpses of Lake Te Anau as well.
Lake Mistletoe is a small kettle lake, and the track gives you glimpses of Lake Te Anau as well. Listen for bellbirds and watch the forest edges for fantails and New Zealand robins. At the eastern viewpoint, frame the lake with the surrounding beech forest; calm weather can give you a useful reflection rather than a plain water shot.
Plan for a wet, simple walkThere are no track facilities, water, or toilets at the walk itself.
There are no track facilities, water, or toilets at the walk itself. The signed carpark is just off SH94 near the Fiordland National Park Lodge complex at Te Anau Downs. Fiordland rain makes waterproof shoes and a jacket sensible, and sandflies are common near the lake. Dogs aren't allowed in Fiordland National Park, and take extra care on the highway return.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Fiordland
1,181 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
199 sightingsFiordland PenguinMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
228 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
32 sightingsBottlenose DolphinMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
247 sightingsNew Zealand Fur SealMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
58 sightingsKākāMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Fiordland. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
